A Rising Fury

A Rising Fury («Гартовані Гнівом» in Ukrainian) is a 2022 Ukrainian documentary film directed by Ukrainian American director and producer Lesya Kalynska and Ukrainian filmmaker Ruslan Batytsky. It was produced by TJ Collins (USA) and Jonathan Borge Lie (Norway). A Rising Fury garnered international acclaim, and was longlisted for the 2024 Academy Awards in the Best Feature Documentary category.

Synopsis
A Rising Fury follows two hopeful Ukrainian idealists from the peaceful protest in Kyiv in 2013 to the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022. The main characters Pavlo and Svitlana meet and fall in love during peaceful protests on the Maidan. After the occupation of Crimea and the start of the war in Donbas, Pavlo loses his home in Donetsk and becomes a soldier in a volunteer battalion. Svetlana joins the volunteer movement and helps soldiers at the front. The situation escalates when, in fierce battles, Pavlo confront his former martial arts instructor and former comrades, who sided with the aggressor and became separatists. While protecting their country, democracy and family, the young couple is faced with a tough life choices. The film also highlights the dramatic moments of the life of Vadym Vasylchuk, the Maidan commandant, who later became a deputy of the Kyiv City Council, and in 2022 joined the Ukrainian Defense Forces. The film includes historical footage with John McCain, Igor Lapin, Les Podervianskyi, Svyatoslav Vakarchuk, Ivan Lenyo and the band Kozak System.

Production
A Rising Fury was written by Lesya Kalynska and co-written by TJ Collins.

The film team followed their subjects for nearly ten years, from the Revolution of Dignity in 2013 to the battlefields in Eastern Ukraine and during the full-scale invasion in 2022. It required multiple expeditions to the front lines and extensive filming in Kyiv.

Soundtrack
The film's soundtrack features original score by Emiliano Mazzenga, and includes music by Mariana Sadovska, Roman Turovsky, Mykola Leontovych and Svyatoslav Vakarchuk.

Festival release
The World Premiere of A Rising Fury took place at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2022 with a special presentation at Lincoln Center – Walter Reade Theater. The International Premiere took place at Warsaw IFF, Poland; Ukrainian premiere - at Odesa IFF. Scandinavian Premiere at Stockholm IFF, Sweden; and Australian premiere – at the Melbourne Documentary Film Festival. The film was selected by many prestigious international film festivals and screened across four continents.

Theatrical release
A Rising Fury had a limited theatrical release in New York City at Cinema Village movie theater from Oct 27th – Nov 2nd, 2023. This theatrical premiere commemorated the 10-year anniversary of the Revolution of Dignity in Kyiv, Ukraine. A Rising Fury also had a limited theatrical release in Los Angeles at TCL Chinese 6 Theatres on February 22, 2024.

Accolades
A Rising Fury received numerous accolades from
 * Film Threat,
 * Film Ink,
 * Filmmaker Magazine,
 * Modern Times Review,
 * Cinema Sentries,
 * The independent Critic

Awards
A Rising Fury has had 5 wins and 6 nominations:
 * Cleveland International Film Festival: 2023 Nominee Greg Gund Memorial Standing Up Award
 * Stockholm Film Festival: 2022 Nominee Bronze Horse Best Documentary
 * Warsaw International Film Festival: 2022 Nominee Documentary Competition Best Documentary Feature
 * Oslo Films from the South Festival: 2022 Nominee DOC: South Award Best Documentary
 * Odesa International Film Festival: 2022 Nominee Golden Duke National Competition Program
 * Melbourne Documentary Film Festival: 2023 Winner Jury Award - Supreme Jury Prize for Feature Documentary, 2023 Winner Audience Award - Best International Documentary
 * Buffalo International Film Festival: 2022 Winner Festival Award
 * El Ojo Cojo International Film Festival: 2023 Winner Honorable Mention - Feature Film
 * Santorini Film Festival: 2023 Nominee Best Film - Best Feature Documentary